The deadline for raising the US debt ceiling is too close for comfort for Treasury officials.

So in an extraordinary group meeting yesterday with the 20 large banks that serve as primary dealers, Treasury executives attempted to outline a game plan on how to deal with debt auctions and with refinancing as much as $500 billion in maturing debt each month should dysfunctional Washington not agree on a plan to raise the $14.3 trillion borrowing limit prior to the Aug. 2 deadline.

With no debt on the horizon as of last night, Treasury officials are looking to keep the markets as calm as possible.

At the meeting, held at the New York Fed in Manhattan, some of the banks suggested that Treasury cancel debt auctions and instead use special Uncle Sam IOUs, called cash management bills, sources said. These IOUs are smaller than auctions and may be able to wiggle in under the $14.2 trillion cap.

No decisions were made — but the import of the meeting was not lost on anyone.

It was the first time Treasury, which usually meets with its primary dealers on an individual basis, held a group session since Lehman Brothers collapsed three years ago.

Sources say that Treasury officials and bankers are hashing out strategies in which the government might be able to tackle refinancing tens of billions of dollars of Uncle Sam’s debt set to mature next week.

The unusual all-hands-on-deck meeting comes in the backdrop of a stubborn stalemate in Washington that has rating agencies threatening to downgrade the government’s pristine AAA rating and has investors increasingly more cautious about investing in Treasuries — typically considered risk-free debt.

Next week, the Treasury is slated to so-called roll over — or retire old debt and re-issue new securities in its place — some $23 billion of short-term Treasuries one day after the debt ceiling deadline passes on Wednesday.

Treasury officials are concerned about their ability to repay the principal on the old securities as well as investors’ appetite for new offerings.

The Treasury Department is hoping that banks are able to step up and act as buyers of last resort in case fretful investors shun Uncle Sam’s new debt.

Also on the table are plans to delay the government’s scheduled quarterly refinancing plans for the near-term until after the debt-ceiling issue is resolved.

After Aug. 2, the government, which finances much of its day-to-day operation with debt, will have plenty of money to service the interest on its debt and make some limited payments on the 80 million checks it cuts every month — perhaps to Social Security recipients, soldiers and Medicare/Medicaid recipients — until roughly Aug. 15.